Date:  Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Contact: Marta Coursey , WSF Director of Communications, 206-515-3918

SEATTLE – Washington residents depend on the state ferry system to get them where they need to go each day. The Washington State Department of Transportation Ferries Division (WSF) is honoring engine room and maintenance employees who helped six of Washington’s 21 ferry vessels achieve 100 percent service reliability in 2010. Employees who maintain and operate the 87-car Klahowya have earned the new Fleet Achievement Award for the best overall performance.

To achieve 100 percent service reliability, a ferry must have no lost trips due to mechanical failure – a testament to the hard work of WSF employees. On each vessel, the chief engineer supervises the engine room and control center and oversees repairs and maintenance to the vessel’s mechanical and electrical equipment. The chief engineer and the assistant engineer also monitor all the control systems. The oiler assists the engineers by circulating through all the machinery spaces, ensuring that everything is operating correctly.

“The engine room crews should be proud of their accomplishment and the hard work they’ve accomplished to make this happen,” said Paul Brodeur, WSF director of vessel maintenance, preservation and engineering. “I especially want to thank the maintenance employees at Eagle Harbor. Their commitment and support helped us provide an unprecedented level of service that our customers rely on.”

In 2010 the six ferries that achieved the 100 percent reliability goal were the 144-car Elwha, the 87-car Evergreen State, the 87-car Klahowya, the 202-car Puyallup, the 202-car Tacoma and the 87-car Tillikum. Four of these ferries regularly serve the San Juan and Vashon islands, whose residents are wholly dependent on ferries, both for transportation to the mainland and for delivery of goods and services to the islands.

The Klahowya receives the Fleet Achievement Award for best overall performance based on number of trips, number of assigned operating days, hours of operation and nautical miles traveled. In 2010 the Klahowya, which typically serves the Fauntleroy/Vashon/Southworth route, made 12,475 trips, operated 338 days, ran 2,858 hours, traveled 35,604 nautical miles and never missed a scheduled trip due to mechanical failure. The Fleet Achievement Award was introduced this year in conjunction with WSF’s 60th anniversary, recognizing six decades of service reliability.

For more information about Washington’s ferries, visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/vesselwatch/Vessels.aspx.

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